So Begins A Quiet Revolution Of The 50 Percent

Last week, a little-known author came out with a big idea. In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, former corporate lawyer and self-professed introvert Susan Cain argues that we live in a culture that is biased against introverts. Instead of embracing their serious, often quiet and reflective style, they are encouraged to act like extroverts—those assertive, outgoing types that love teamwork, brainstorming, networking and thinking out loud. This, she says, leads to a “colossal waste of talent, energy and happiness.”

The introverts are listening. My piece landed on Forbes’ most popular list four days straight, and was shared extensively across the Web. Moreover, the book was featured by several major media outlets like The New York Times, NPR and CBS, and is the Feb. 6 cover story of Time. Studies show that introverts are one-third to half of the U.S. population, meaning Cain may be at the forefront of a quiet revolution of the 50%.

“People have been waiting for the permission to articulate these things,” Cain told me in a video interview. “Now that they have it, there’s going to be a groundswell. Introverts are starting to speak out.”

I heard from them. My Twitter feed filled up with comments from all types:

I’ve been waiting for this my whole life! I want to show all my teachers.

As an introvert, it is a challenge at times to convey competence as a quiet, under-the-radar dude.

My final self-check before a meeting: What about the introverts?

Readers said they felt validated and seen for the first time. One “seriously introverted” commenter expressed struggling to work in “an environment more fitted to extroverts,” agreeing that “there are more and more requirements for social skills and that more and more jobs require teamwork.” Said another, “I am not sure whether to laugh or cry… Therein lies the rub of being an introvert: a world that values chattiness and socialization, even in the work place, I find suffocating and at times traumatizing.”

Cain believes that whether you are outwardly oriented to the world around you or inwardly oriented to the inner riches of the mind has as profound an effect as your gender. “The place of introverts in our culture today is very similar to where women were in the 1950s and early 1960s,” she said. “Half the population was discounted for something that went to the core of who they were. And it was also a population on the verge of coming into its own, like what’s happening with introverts now. We’re at the cusp of a real sea change in the way we understand this personality type.”

The gender parallel may be especially ironic to introverted women. Female leaders like Sheryl Sandberg are constantly advising women to individually take action to close the leadership gap: Sit at the table. Raise your hand. Speak up.

“It’s not a bad thing to go to a meeting and, even if you feel uncomfortable, push yourself to speak,” Cain noted. “We all do have to act out of our true character sometimes. But it’s not healthy to act out of your true character most or all of the time.”

Of course, it’s not too surprising that an often overlooked personality type would appreciate a little attention. The real question is: Will anything actually change?

“I would like to change people’s psyches,” Cain said. “So many introverts who I interviewed told me about a secret sense of shame they had about who they were and how they prefer to spend their time. I want people to have a comfort level with who they are. Secondly, I’d like schools and workplaces to rethink how they are structured and think about meeting the needs of their introverts as well as their extroverts.”

At least one high-powered leader is on board. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI extolled the virtues of silence, recommending we all learn to quiet down.

“Joy, anxiety and suffering can all be communicated in silence,” he wrote in a message on Tuesday. “By remaining silent, we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself, and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested.”